Directors

Mark W. Gura

Mark W. Gura is the Vice President of the Atheist Alliance of America and co-presenter of the Richard Dawkins Award which has been given to Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Christopher Hitchens, James Randi, Bill Maher, and many others. Mark is also the host of the “Blind Faith Vaccine” TV show, and the author of several books. Throughout his life, Gura has lived in and explored more than 80 countries where he has studied religion and philosophy. He has more than 20 years’ experience in practicing mindfulness meditation/Vipassana. He learned this technique in India from the late S.N. Goenka.: www.MarkWgura.com or www.Facebook.com/MarkWgura

CW Brown

CW Brown is the CEO and Founder of the Philosophical Atheism and Thinking Rationally online communities that were both founded in 2013. At the beginning of 2017 he began his relationship with Atheist Alliance of America as their Executive and Social Media Director due to his passion for their mutual cause. He furthered his commitment to the secular communities of the world by partnering with Mark W. Gura to help bring about a reformation of the fourth largest religion in the world, Buddhism. They both hope to shed light upon its important secular qualities whilst pointing out its supernatural flaws. He resides in Vermont and has been an atheist, humanist, and freethinking activist for over four years. Previously, he was a Christian for 17 years and, from his many valuable personal experiences, he brings about these episodes with others in a manner that is helpful in their journey towards reason. He holds an A.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Liberty University. He very strongly believes in putting human rights above those of age old mythologies. He enjoys playing music (piano and guitar), reading and writing (music and articles), and building a consistently reformed mind by consistently pondering the phrase “Question Before You Believe.”

Steven Kierewicz

Executive Director / Treasurer

Steven Kierewicz is a practitioner of vipassana meditation and a student of secular philosophy, religion, free thought and skepticism. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Electronics from ITT Technical Institute at Mt. Prospect, IL.

Blinn Combs, PhD.

Secretary

Blinn Combs, PhD. is a teacher, researcher, writer, blogger, skeptic, science advocate, and a proponent of virtue ethics. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Texas as part of the Joint Program in Classics and Philosophy, where he specialized in the Socratic Method as displayed in Plato’s shorter ethical dialogues.

Gustavo Estrada, PhD.

Board of Directors

Gustavo Estrada, PhD.is a dedicated student of Eastern philosophy, agnosticism and evolutionary science, has practiced meditation and yoga for more for more than three decades, and has published books on meditation in both English and Spanish. He has written for several Latin American media organizations, including El Tiempo, Colombia’s largest newspaper. He is one of the leading champions of Pragmatic or Secular Buddhism, which leaves aside beliefs and rituals and advocates the practice of mindfulness meditation as a path to eliminate anxiety and stress.

Estrada earned a graduate degree in chemical engineering at the National University of Bogota, Colombia and the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden and then worked as systems adviser, director of business projects and consultant in information technology.

Dr. A. Maran, MD.

Board of Directors

Dr. A. Maran, MD. is a hematologist-oncologist, and is currently pursuing health care management at the Harvard School of Public Health. Having been exposed to Eastern philosophy and world religions from an early age, and having practiced meditation for the last several years, he is an advocate of exploring and understanding the human condition and improving health by applying knowledge from multiple disciplines.

Justin S. Whitaker, PhD.

Board of Directors

Justin S. Whitaker, PhD.recently completed his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the University of London, focusing on comparative Buddhist and Kantian ethics. He has a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Montana and an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from Bristol University in England. He has practiced meditation since 2000 and has taught World Religions, Buddhism, and Buddhist Philosophy at universities in the US and India.

Aaron Williams

Board of Directors

Aaron Williams graduated from Georgia State University where he studied Psychology and Philosophy and holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from Universidad de Gabriela Mistral in Santiago, Chile. His background is in the Theravada tradition, however has practiced different styles of meditation for the last 15 years and currently runs monthly meditation retreats.

Tina Hamilton

Board of Directors

Tina Hamilton is an atheist and secular Buddhist – she has studied multiple religions throughout her lifetime – starting with various Christian denominations and then spanned outside of Christianity – some of the other religions she studied were Judaism, Paganism, Druidism, Shamanism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism. Throughout her time in studying these religions she realized that she was a skeptic of supernatural, gods, and religious dogma. Twelve years ago, she realized she was an atheist, but values some of the core aspects in Buddhism, and that being meditation and mindfulness.

Tina has a Bachelor degree in both Nursing, and Psychology. and is now working on her Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Oregon State University – Cascades, Bend, Oregon. After completion, she plans to provide secular counseling in the areas of stress management, grief counseling, and addictions. Currently, she is involved in several Atheist social media projects, including Atheist Alliance of America, Association of Mindfulness Meditation and Secular Buddhism. She is also a team member in a support group project for new atheists that Anthony Magnabosco organized. Tina has great interest in learning and applying Street Epistemology, and is a strong advocate for critical thinking and science, as well as Separation of Church and State. She is active in her local political organization, and a member of the Human Dignity Advocates.

Our Mission

We are an IRS approved 501(C)(3) tax-except non-profit organization.

Our mission is to lead, serve and promote teachers and organizations that support Secular Buddhism and secular meditation without reference to god(s), gurus or supernatural forces.